Hey got a question about these transmissions. I tried searching the forum first and came up with nothin, and even tried searchin the internet before i asked what might seem a stupid question. I had never heard of this till the other day when one popped up in the cl***ifieds. What does anyone know about the chevy manual three speed with overdrive. Can it work with a column shift? Is it semi reliable? Is it worth to have to be cheap and different? Or were they hunks of **** and not worth the agg. I love drivin my suburban around and love three on the tree but would like to have a high way gear and this has the wheels turnin inside my head wondering if this would be somethin worth checkin into more. And Im not lookin to support a power house the suburban only has a straight six in it now. Im workin on a 283 for it but it wont be anything special. Thats why Im not lookin for a four or five speed, I would just like to keep the column shift if possible and gain a gear for cruisin. Thanks in advance.
They work ok, chevy only put them in trucks for a couple years, I think they were a bit weak for trucks but ok for cars. Chevy ran steeper rearend gears in the cars that had overdrive.
It will work w/ a column shift. I love these units... but I'm in no rush to get anywhere and I have minimal horsepower. They work very well... if you ask me. I got one in my Shoebox and another going into my Chevy pick-up I'm building. They are Borg-Warner overdrive units. There is information out there on them. Like here: http://www.fifthaveinternetgarage.com/parts/index.html
They were very popular in Fords. I'm ***uming you have the solenoid driven overdrive planetary tailpiece? Not really meant to handle more than 150 hp or so, I imagine it would grenade the transmission if you put too much power in front of it. If you google, I am sure you will come up with a fella that did his suburban with one and the wiring diagrams for setup. There are some particulars about them, biggest being that they will free spin below a certain mph, something like 29 or so. Not to be used as a sole means of parking. You will need a parking brake.
There are some particulars about them, biggest being that they will free spin below a certain mph, something like 29 or so. Not to be used as a sole means of parking. You will need a parking brake.[/QUOTE] If you have the cable that manually acts as an off on master switch, you dissengage it when you stop and the ****** acts like a normal one and the gears are engaged
The R-10 is the smaller of the overdrive units, and won't handle a whole lot of power. The Borg-Warner R-11 is a heavier unit, typically mounted behind a T-85, and will handle a good deal more power. I believe they were put behind Ford 352s from the factory, maybe even 390s. I have a T-85 with an R-11 overdrive sitting in my garage that I bought but never used.
Chevy put lots of them behind 283 power pack engines with 220 hp. They work fine. I wouldn't go with all the original wiring, just wire it in to a switch mounted on the shifter and use it like a 2 speed, you can actually split every gear. If you run the wiring through the lockout, it won't go into overdrive under a certain speed, 20-30 mph, I can't remember for sure. It's kinda pointless to split first gear anyway but if you did, it is like a six speed. I don't know if chevy ever used an R11, I have only seen them on Fords, all the chevys I've seen were the R10. I knew a guy who mated an R10 up to a BW T10 4 speed once, behind a 300 horse 327. Just make sure and pull the cable to lock it out before you do any speed shifting.
The saginaw 3 spd od are pretty good trannies. Lots of late 60s and early 70's pickups had them. They can handle a fair amount of torque and will last if you dont try to do wheel stands with them. Stay away from the early muncie od with the non syncro first gear.
I have the earlier Muncie OD Chevy model year '62, 55k miles on it, .7 OD X 3.90 rear = 2.73 final gear 3rd overdrive. Achieved 17.8 mpg @65-75 mph on a 900 mile round trip at Thanksgiving. Buy it, install it, kiss the mirror. So worth it if you actually want to go highway speeds w/o hearing loss.
I'm going to use the stock OD trans and rear that came in my 6cyl 56 Ford behind a 352. I'm pretty sure it would be the small one. I had a factory 292 3sp OD 57 wagon and loved it. I don't know which model that one was. I was embarr***ed and a little scared when I had to jump in front of it in the parking lot to keep it from rolling down a small grade when I stopped for a coffee on the way home. I got 'er whoa-ed up and crawled back in before it hit anything. It was new to me then and I've never been a parking brake guy. I've had a 39 Ford trans behind a LT-1 and been able to have fun on the street without breaking anything but I don't squeal tires (on purpose anyway) or bang gears. If I break it....I'll fix it but I'm not too worried. I've nosed and decked it but I'm adding the chrome "overdrive" lettering on the trunk even though it never came on a 56. Just something to make it a little different from all the rest of the 56 Fords in the parking lot.
What year did Chevy start the first gear syncro? I have a '64 Chevy Impala 3 speed O/D with 60k on it but don't think it's got first gear syncro.................
I have one of these transmissions in my garage at this very moment that came out of my father's '58 belair , it had the 235 cu. in. 6 in it with the overdrive trans. , it had a cable on the bottom of the driver's side dash , right below the key switch , I drove this car for months to work , traveling on interstate 77 between WV and VA at highway speeds with no problems at all , up mountains , and back down again , never kicked out of gear unless you pushed all the way down on the gas pedal , in which it would kick back out of overdrive into 3rd gear , the only reason we took it out , was for the V-8 / auto swap we did out of another '58 , the transmission has been lying in the floor of my garage every since , I was young at the time , so I kinda jerked it around a little , (sorry dad) but it did very well , I would trust the ****** anywhere as long as you werent gonna use it to tow with...
I have one in my Crestliner. If you don't want it to roll, just put it in reverse, no parking brake needed.
I'm not sure but I think they were pickup only. The newest full size chevy I have seen with factory overdrive was a 68 Biscayne, and the only one. They had pretty much phased them out by then. Ford supposedly used them into the 72 model year on pickups but 69 is the latest one I've seen Someone probably knows more than me about this but I don't think a 6 banger Ford ****** will fit up to a V8 in those 50s models.
Mine bolted up to a 66 truck 352 bellhousing once I drilled and tapped the existing bosses to match the 50s Ford trans bolt pattern. I did have to get a special Ford pilot bushing to make up for the slightly shorter input shaft but it's in there. Ford made the pilot bushing for truck fleets during the transitional years after the change that could be swapping trans on different year trucks.
Cool, good to know. For some reason I was thinking the 223 and the Y block ******s had different length input shafts, might just be having a senior moment too.
I have 3 sitting around 2 early Plymouth and one later GM that is fully rebuilt. I want to put in the GMC in my avatar when I switch out the 3.0 gears in the *** end. love the smooth shifting and coasting. always pull the cable when driving in the mountains to save the brakes also am looking for a NASH cable. instead of saying OVERDRIVE on the handle they called it CRUISING GEAR. one of those little things that I like that no one ever sees
I have one in the Edsel and I love it. It will roll out easy at 80mph and stay there all day long. Makes for some shocked expressions in the fast lane when you p*** someone and they are trying to figure out what it is. I realize your intent is not to drive that fast but just pick up an extra gear. I love mine but need to tinker with it a little bit. It sometimes doesnt want to shift into 4 if I am going any faster than about 40mph. I have a pretty torque-y motor so I can lug it a little and not grind to a stop.
ONLY if you're parked down hill. If your uphill it will the coast backwards. And another thought. If you have it unlocked and you need a push start going forward, good luck!
tried to give one away on here! R-10 with all the wiring diagrams for splitting. Google search R-10 o/d and get some good stuff from people who love them. my r-10 went to s**** yard.
Are you referring to the 3 speed overdrive from the 50's/60's the R10 or the NP A 833 from the early 1980's?
Are you referring to the 3 speed overdrive from the 50's/60's the R10 or the NP A 833 from the early 1980's? I have the A 833 (MY-06) in my 66 Chevy ton. Works great, pulls good & cruises easy with my 4:10 rears.
I run one in my '55 Chevy, stick on the column. I'd pull down 20 mpg with a 327 with a Q-Jet carb. Good ******. I used the cable and toggle switch method. With OD locked out with the cable it'll act just like a regular 3-speed. With cable engaged and OD switched on it'll act just like a regular 3-speed but with a lower numerical rear axle gear, except it won't roll backwards. The OD unit locks up. Acts like a hill holding device on steep grades. Ya' have to turn the switch off before ya' can back up. There's a sliding rod, not used in the standard 3-speed box, to manually kick the OD out (or maybe it's to prevent reverse the movement into reverse by the 1st/reverse arm on the side cover plate). With the OD cable manually engaged but with the switch off, you'll accelerate like a 3-speed, but when you take your foot off the throttle the car will free wheel. No compression effect to slow ya' down. I have one in the car and 3 spares under the work bench. Had them for over 35 years. The later Saginaw unit has a syncro 1st gear. I've seen where these OD units were adapted to a Saginaw 4-speed. That's the ones with reverse still located in the main case.
It'll bolt right in, it's basically the same trans you have, but with the BW R-10 OD unit attached. The Muncie 3-speed was used until 1966, like has already been said. The heavier duty Saginaw 3-speeds came out in 66, and those with OD had the BW R-11 unit attached. This is also the one used to convert a 4-speed Saginaw into a 4-speed with OD. I have one of those Saginaw 3-speed with OD I'll probably never use. Your trans will work fine for your purpose, as long as you use it in a reasonable fashion. Good idea to keep it column shift as you'd probably never find a shifter to convert it to the floor these days. You can find the wiring schematics in several places on the net, but the pull cable may be a problem; I'd use a Morse cable and make one. Butch/56sedandelivery.
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